Could your backyard chickens be making your family sick? A drug-resistant Salmonella outbreak has swept across 13 states.
A troubling multistate outbreak of a rare, antibiotic-resistant Salmonella strain has sickened dozens of Americans — nearly half of them young children — and federal health officials are pointing directly at backyard poultry flocks as the culprit.
It began with a single reported illness on February 26, 2026. By mid-April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had confirmed what public health officials feared most: a spreading, drug-resistant bacterial outbreak with no signs of slowing down.
Drug-Resistant Salmonella Outbreak Spreads Across 13 States, Raising Treatment Concerns
A drug-resistant strain of Salmonella Saintpaul () has sickened at least 34 people across 13 states after exposure to backyard poultry, prompting a federal investigation. What makes this outbreak especially alarming is not just its reach — it is the nature of the bacteria itself. This is not your ordinary Salmonella. It is a strain that appears to be fighting back against the very antibiotics doctors rely on to treat it.
The outbreak involves the Salmonella Saintpaul strain of the bacterium. Upon whole-genome sequencing of samples collected from those infected, all cases showed resistance to fosfomycin, an antibiotic commonly used to treat Salmonella infections.
The implications are serious. Of the 34 confirmed cases, eight people’s samples also predicted resistance to one or more additional antibiotics: chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfisoxazole, and tetracycline. In other words, for some patients, multiple standard lines of treatment may simply not work.
Some isolates showed resistance to last-line antibiotics for Gram-negative bacteria, such as colistin and fosfomycin, according to Janak Dhakal, PhD, assistant professor of animal science at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The emergence of resistance to last-resort drugs is a red flag that infectious disease specialists have long warned about — and it is now unfolding in American homes and backyards.
Illnesses were reported from February 26 to March 31 and include 13 people who were hospitalized. Sick people range in age from 1 to 78, but more than 40% are children younger than 5.
The geographic spread of the outbreak tells its own story. Michigan has reported the most confirmed cases at six, followed by Ohio and Wisconsin, which each have had five cases. Indiana, Kentucky, and Maine have each had three confirmed cases, while Maryland and West Virginia have recorded two each. Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and Tennessee have each confirmed a single case.
No deaths have been reported — but health officials are careful to note that the true scale of the outbreak is almost certainly larger than the numbers suggest. Many people recover without medical care and are not tested for Salmonella, and recent illnesses may not yet be reported, as it usually takes three to four weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak.
The thread connecting the majority of patients is one that has surprised many: their own backyard chickens and ducks.
Of the 29 people interviewed, 79% reported contact with backyard poultry. Of 14 people who reported owning backyard poultry, 93% purchased or obtained poultry since January 1, 2026. People reported getting their poultry from various places, including agricultural retail stores.
The timing is significant. The surge in new poultry ownership since the start of 2026 — likely driven by growing interest in self-sufficiency and fresh eggs — may be inadvertently introducing contaminated birds into family environments across the country.
Investigators in Ohio collected samples from backyard poultry, and whole-genome sequencing showed that the Salmonella Saintpaul found in those birds matched the strain found in sick people, reinforcing the direct link between flocks and human infections.
One of the most critical — and misunderstood — aspects of this outbreak is how easily the bacteria spreads. Many people assume that only those who directly handle chickens or ducks are at risk. The CDC warns otherwise.
Infections can occur after touching backyard poultry, eggs, or objects in their environment — such as feed containers, cages, or shoes worn in coops — and then touching the mouth or food without washing hands. This means a child who wanders through a backyard coop, or an adult who collects eggs and then prepares a meal without washing up, can carry the bacteria indoors without ever knowing it.
Salmonella Outbreak Hits Young Children Hardest, Raising Urgent Public Health Concerns
The disproportionate impact on young children runs throughout this outbreak’s data and demands particular attention. Young children are especially susceptible because their immune systems are still developing, they are more likely to touch their faces and mouths, and they are naturally drawn to animals — making them far more likely to have close contact with backyard birds.
The CDC says children under 5 should not handle chicks, ducklings, or spend time in areas where birds live or roam. For families who keep backyard flocks, this guidance deserves to be treated as a firm rule rather than a suggestion.
Scientists tracking the outbreak are raising deeper questions about why drug-resistant Salmonella is emerging with increasing frequency in backyard poultry settings.
According to Dhakal, the primary driver is likely contamination at the hatchery level. Other contributing factors include a lack of proper biosecurity in backyard poultry settings, such as open housing, poor sanitation, and contact with wildlife.
The backyard poultry trend, which boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued to grow since, is creating new pathways for bacterial transmission that traditional food safety systems were not designed to monitor. The popularity of backyard poultry is expected to continue to rise in the US, and so is the risk for transmission of Salmonella, resulting in recurrent multistate outbreaks and the spread of antimicrobial-resistant strains.
This is not the first time backyard flocks have triggered a national crisis. In 2025, an outbreak sickened more than 500 people in 48 states, with 125 people hospitalized and two deaths. The current outbreak, while smaller so far, carries an additional layer of danger: the drug resistance profile of this strain is more alarming than what was seen before.
Experts Urge Stronger Surveillance and Biosecurity Measures to Curb Drug-Resistant Salmonella
Experts are calling for action beyond hand-washing advisories. More work is needed to improve antimicrobial resistance surveillance in backyard poultry, and to integrate backyard chicken flocks into national antimicrobial resistance and pathogen surveys. A better understanding of antibiotic practices in small-scale systems and an evaluation of biosecurity interventions tailored to backyard settings could also help prevent future outbreaks.
For clinicians on the front lines, the guidance is direct: use culture and susceptibility testing, when possible, before recommending any antibiotic. In a drug-resistant outbreak, prescribing the wrong treatment could be worse than no treatment at all.
The CDC and public health experts have outlined clear steps for anyone who keeps backyard poultry or comes into contact with it:
Wash hands with soap and water immediately after touching poultry, eggs, or anything in their environment. Use hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available. Children should always be supervised around backyard flocks, and children under 5 should not handle chicks, ducklings, or spend time in areas where birds live or roam.
The CDC also advises not wearing shoes or boots used in the birds’ area inside the home, and keeping poultry and their supplies outside. Additional precautions include storing raw meat, poultry, and seafood away from other foods in the refrigerator, washing food preparation surfaces thoroughly with soap and water, and never placing cooked food on an unwashed plate that previously held raw meat.
Every year, Salmonella causes roughly 1.35 million illnesses and 420 deaths in the United States. Most of those cases are manageable. But the emergence of strains resistant to multiple antibiotics changes that calculus in ways that should concern anyone who follows public health.
The backyard chicken movement was born out of a desire for wholesome, self-sufficient living — fresh eggs, connection to nature, a slower pace. That impulse is not wrong. But it carries real responsibilities that many new flock owners may not fully appreciate. A bird that looks perfectly healthy can still silently carry and shed Salmonella, infecting children and adults alike without any visible warning.
The CDC continues to work with hatcheries and retail stores to educate new poultry owners and control the spread of Salmonella at its source. But until those systemic safeguards are strengthened, the first and most important line of defence remains the same: wash your hands, supervise your children, and know the risks that come with the flock in your yard.
References:
- Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Backyard Poultry – (https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/outbreaks/saintpaul-04-26/index.html)
Source-Medindia